COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Stewart Cink got off to a great start in a bid to win his third straight senior major.
Cink was the only player to make five birdies on the back nine at Scioto Country Club on Thursday, shooting a 3-under 67 for a share of the first-round lead in the U.S. Senior Open with Charlie Wi.
Cink struggled on the front nine, shooting a 2-over 37, but found momentum once he made the turn.
“I’ve been off for a little while, and I started
like I’ve been off for a little while. I had to prove it to myself again that I could play decent golf a certain way,” Cink said. “The back nine was really nice. I actually could have shot quite a bit lower on the back nine. I missed three very reasonably like inside — right around 10 feet or less birdie putts.”
The 53-year-old Cink has four wins in nine PGA Tour Champions starts this year, including the Senior PGA Championship and the Tradition. The last player to win the Senior PGA, Tradition and U.S. Senior Open in the same year was Jack Nicklaus in 1991. Scioto, the Donald Ross course hosting its third U.S. Senior Open, is where Nicklaus learned to play the game.
Simon Griffiths, Freddie Jacobson and George McNeill were tied for third at 68. Defending champion Padraig Harrington was among a group of 10 players at 69.
“Of course it’s tough, we know that, so once you get through that, the golf course itself is playing nicely,” Harrington said.
Cink is also attempting to become the fifth player to win the event after being runner-up the previous year. Fred Funk was the last to do it in 2009.
Cink was part of the seventh afternoon group to tee off from the first hole and played in the toughest conditions of the day, when the temperature reached 95 degrees midway through his round and a heat index of 103 according to the National Weather Service.
“The heat is a factor for sure. It affects your focus and your energy level. Sometimes even the simplest shots just kind of -- it’s easy to fall asleep at the wheel when the conditions are like that,” he said.
Cink tied Wi with a birdie on the par-4 18th. Cink's tee shot found one of the bunkers on the left hand side, but he got a great lie. His second shot landed within 2 feet near the front of the hole, and made for an easy putt.
Wi was at even par through his first 11 holes before his string of birdies on holes three through seven holes. Wi made a double bogey on the par-4 eighth before ending his round with a par.
Wi thought his best shot came on the par-3 fourth, when he hit his tee shot within a couple feet with a 5-iron on the 205-yard hole.
“I hit the ball pretty solid today, made a couple of putts. It was a hot day. I just made sure that I stayed in the ballgame, meaning like mentally, because you could easily lose it out there,” he said.
Wi’s run of bridies ended on the eighth hole when his second shot went left and into the water near the green. He is the 14th player in the 46-year history of the Senior Open to have at least five straight birdies in a round. The last time it happened was in 2022 when Thongchai Jaidee birdied Nos. 5-9 at the Saucon Valley Country Club's Old Course in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, during the third round.
The 54-year old South Korean player has nine worldwide professional victories — including five on the Korean Tour — but none on the PGA Tour or Champions circuit.
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